I always suggest that my clients visualise the unseen beauty of the ceiling as it is one of my prior design elements which stand out well in any setting.“Statement ceilings have become a trend due to the huge involvement of the common man into the interiors of his living space, where they visualise something other than just shimmering chandeliers or fans. An example of a statement ceiling we’ve been working on involves an art installation in sync with lighting fixtures to be suspended from the top that runs with the graphic theme of the client’s restaurant and product branding. Mostly, these ceilings are designed in the living area to make it look vast in intimate spaces like the bedroom where certain designs help drive the emptiness away. Ceilings have become a symbol of identity. Looking up at the ceiling while reading a book after a long day, makes me relax as the colours are bright and add luxury and grace.  
It has recently snooped into living spaces like the bedroom, and other intimate areas. There are various types of statement ceilings that one could style their house with, depending upon the budget and the client’s willingness to spend on the material. With the help of gypsum ceilings, we get to create a variety of statement ceilings depending on the client’s requirement. It gives a very lively and comfortable vibe and makes the house welcoming, which is great, because we often have a lot of guests over.” says interior expert, Muthu Krishna. Shreya Arora, an architect is all for it, “I find it interesting how it’s being looked at as an independent element because ceilings have always been an integral part of spatially creating a certain aesthetic and an overall experience. Cornice in gypsum acts as a good base, and if paired with wooden stripes on a white background, it lends it a simplistic classy look,” says Harish. The existence of statement ceilings can be traced back in history and has gained popularity in today’s living. It adds class and elegance to a home along with comfort and confidence. “Wallpapers, of texture and shapes, creeping on to ceilings will be the next thing.There has been a noticeable change in society and people have become more accepting, educated about the nuances of art culture, decor and aesthetics.”  
From lamps and baskets to paintings and wooden carvings, ceilings are being beautified and it couldn’t be anything lesser than a treat to one’s eyes!— Aditi Jayakumar. Geetha Nair, a homemaker, elaborates, “In our hall, walls are a light shade of grey, and we have plants as decor alongwith our old wooden table. Statement ceilings have the power to set the tone of the ambience. Harish Unnikrishan, an interior expert, feels that as a designer, leaving the ceiling blank has always been something he didn’t like, and this trend has been getting popular as it brings a vastness to the space instead of a room filled with just furniture. It’s a great way to be aesthetically dramatic and bold.You walk into a room and see monotones on the walls with minimum decor, and look up to the ceiling, expecting a base colour painted on but instead, it’s been painted in a completely contrasting colour with different textures and accessories, and even  China LED Back-Up Lights though it sounds a little absurd, you cannot take your eyes off something so aesthetically pleasing.”This trend has been widely used at restaurants where the ceiling compliments the theme of the place, and sets the mood, making it welcoming. The ceiling is a mixture of colours in the form of abstract art.With inputs from experts, statement ceilings can be economical as well. Good textured wallpapers of your choice along with a majestic chandelier for the living room or small lights hanging from the top, for bedrooms.

“The excitement, the adrenaline rush of framing a moment from the wild and immortalising it is addictive. “I’ve travelled to many locations like Bharatpur, Sasan Gir National Park, the Little Rann of Kutch, amongst others. It’s something that makes an image memorable. That’s what makes it challenging to me,” he smiles.The wise owlIt was only years later in early 2010, when he purchased his first DSLR that he took up wildlife photography as a serious hobby.”Vinod is now experimenting with portraits and the other creatures from the animal kingdom — humans.”SoulmatesWhat started off as just a hobby for this academician, earned him laurels, with some of them being exhibited in national level exhibitions, as well as being featured in magazines. As his interest in observing and capturing animals and birds grew, his expeditions took him to sanctuaries and nature parks around the globe.Three in a treeBut ask Vinod to pick a favourite and he fends off the question. You’ll probably never get that moment again. But he believes both have their set of challenges.  
As a natural progression, I gravitated towards photographing them,” he says. The available light and background may not be to your liking, and you have to be quick on your feet. The other birds would fly and try to push them off. “That’s like asking a mother, which of her children she loves the most,” he laughs. “They had a wild berry tree and a variety of flowering plants. In one of those images, a bird on the pull put up stiff resistance and the expressions of the two birds tell a lovely story.”SentinelVinod adds, “There’s an image of a few wire-tailed swallows I clicked at Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai. I would observe the winged beauties that frequently visited these plants. With wildlife, nothing is in your control.Vinod Udhwani’s love affair with nature began back when he was a child. Then I’ve also photographed the mighty tigers in the Tadoba reserve, and the Nagzira reserve. Growing up in suburban Mumbai, the engineering graduate would spend hours together in his neighbours’ garden, observing birds and butterflies around the mango trees. You never know what the bird or tiger will do next. One of his images of a bird even made it to the front page of search engine Bing, putting him in international limelight. There were a couple of bamboo poles on which some of them would  China LED turn signal lights perch. “No matter the final outcome, there’s always a special moment, an experience attached to an image.Stay off!“With human subjects and indoor photography, even while the lights, expressions of the models and overall composition is controlled, your ability as an artist is tested when you have to visualise them.

Speaking in the state Assembly on Monday, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, whose party is an ally of the BJP in the state, yet again spoke of opening a dialogue with Pakistan, adding the apprehension that she would be labelled “anti-national” by some television channels for expressing such a view. In military terminology, a “surgical strike” is meant to incapacitate the adversary over a long period, but the Pakistan Army-backed terrorists have become even more active. A succession of high-profile attacks on Army and CRPF establishments caused the government to launch what it called a cross-LoC “surgical strike” in September 2016 to silence the terrorist groups at their launchpad sites.
An official committee to plug loopholes in the defence of the security services’ camps, set up after the attack on the 15 Corps headquarters at Nagrota on the outskirts of Jammu, has reportedly gathered dust. Historically, when there is no political engagement in Kashmir, the security situation tends to deteriorate. But the facts on the ground show such assertions to be false, and diversionary. The practically twin terrorist strikes occurring in Jammu and Srinagar between Saturday and Monday seemed to underline the helplessness of those in authority in taking a measure of the situation.While the terrorist strike in the family quarters section of the Sunjwan Army LED turn signal lights camp ended on Sunday night after a 36-hour firefight, the attack on the CRPF camp at Karan Nagar in the heart of Srinagar — which began early on Monday morning — was thwarted with the loss of one jawan’s life, but the terrorists planted themselves in a nearby building under construction and the skirmish was on throughout the day.
When questioned about the precipitous fall in the security situation in J&K, leading lights of the ruling party at the Centre routinely speak of the number of terrorists killed in the past year, and insist that the Valley is secure as never before, and speak of Pakistan’s “isolation” in the world due to the exertions of the Prime Minister.. But the facts on the ground have sneered at them.The Narendra Modi government and the BJP have tried to take propaganda mileage from this to showcase their capability.There appears to be something seriously amiss in the government’s imagination, as well as capability, in dealing with the security situation and with politics in Jammu and Kashmir. The government believes this makes it look brave even when soldiers and civilians die routinely in terrorist strikes and ceasefire violations by Pakistan and the country watches helplessly.The security grid in J&K has been leaking since January 1, 2016 when the attack on the Pathankot airbase occurred, and there seems to be no accountability. The standard line trotted out by the Centre is that “terror and talks cannot go together”.

The Islamic Society of Central Florida Masjid Al-Munin Mosque agreed with prosecutors and defense attorneys in determining Wolfe’s sentence, Brown said.Michael Wolfe, 37, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to criminal mischief to a place of worship in a case considered a felony hate crime, said Todd Brown, spokesman for Florida’s 18th Judicial District, which includes Brevard and Seminole counties.”Wolfe was also sentenced to 15 years of probation, to be served after his prison sentence, Brown said.“The Florida Muslim Community is suffering an unprecedented number of hate crimes,” Florida CAIR spokesman Wilfredo Ruiz said in a statement issued on Wednesday.Fort Lauderdale: A man who vandalised a Florida mosque in January 2016 and left a raw slab of bacon on its doorstep was sentenced to 15 years in prison on a hate crime conviction, a state attorney’s spokesman said on Wednesday.Muslims are prohibited from consuming pork products including bacon, and hate groups have used pork products as a way to desecrate US mosques, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR.. “Multiple led light strips for trucks  mosques and Islamic institutions have been broken into, vandalised, and even set on fire.Surveillance video after the 2016 incident showed a man with a shaved head and camouflage clothing breaking windows, cameras and lights with a machete at the mosque in Titusville, Florida, near Cape Canaveral, police said.

The duo bowled the audience with the rendition of Raga Bilaskhani Todi (Alap/Jod/Jhala) followed by Vilambit Gat in  led plate lights  Teentaal).After a mesmerizing performance by Uday Bhawalkar last week, Shiraz Ali Khan, carrying forward the legacy of his grandfather Baba Allaudin Khan, was in his form this morning. The Founder Chairman of Legends of India and curator of Morning Ragas, Dipayan Mazumdar said, “Taking initiative is not difficult but implementing ideas for taking those initiatives on high elevation takes a lot of hard work. Uday Bhawalkar lives in Pune, where he teaches students from all over the country in a traditional manner.The youngest member of the Maihar Seniya Gharana lit up the Sunday morning with his Fluid, gentle & deeply inspiring performance.Shiraz has studied under the guidance of his father Dhyanesh Khan and his aunt Ameena Perera in the Beenkar and Rababiya Anga styles bearing the Dhrupad form of his gharana. His singing was fluid, gentle, and deeply inspiring. He studied under Ustad Fariduddin Dagar at Bhopal, and then with Ustad Mohiuddin Dagar in Mumbai, but despite the strong Dagar influence in his singing, he has clearly developed his own personal style.”Last Sunday, India’s leading dhrupad singer Uday Bhawalkar had started his performance with delightful Vibhas.New Delhi: Sunday morning performances in Delhi were introduced by Legends Of India though many organisations, including Sangeet Natak Akademi has followed suit. Presently, Shiraz is performing live with his Guru Ustad Aashish Khan world wideShiraz was accompanied by Sourabh Goho, a young talent from Kolkata creating vibration across the country.Next, he performed a Rajasthani Folk tune Kesariya Balam in Raga Mishra Mand and ended his performance with Mishra Bhairavi.. The Raga was created by Mian Tansen’s son Bilas Khan.